Electronic cameras for capturing scene images and then selectively printing the same are known.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,262,301, issued to I. Erlichman on Apr. 14, 1981, discloses an electronic camera wherein scene images are captured by an image sensor and then stored electronically. Hard copies of the stored images are subsequently produced by retrieving such images from storage and then printing the same on an image recordable medium by a printer mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,937,676, issued to Finelli et al. on Jun. 26, 1990, discloses an electronic imaging system wherein the scene images are captured electronically by an image sensor and stored. An operator can preview the captured images prior to printing by recalling them from memory and displaying the same for viewing on a suitable stationary LCD display.
While the devices described by both Erlichman and Finelli et al provide good results in respect of printed hard copy, both employ printing mechanisms wherein images are printed onto a photosensitive photosensitive film line-by-line, such as, by a scanning exposure of the photosensitive film with a linear array printhead. Although the rate and efficiency at which such printing mechanisms can produce finished hardcopy images is generally adequate for printing images of comparatively moderate amounts of digital information, the current development of electronic cameras shows an escalation toward the capture of more digital information per image. With larger, more finely resolved images, the use of linear array printing can present challenging issues in respect of throughput, energy efficiency, and film handling.
As an alternative to linear array printing, one can image a photosensitive film using so-called area array printing technology. Such technology has already found applications in digital camera. Printing in these instances is accomplished by exposing photosensitive film to an image-bearing light propagated from a transmission-type liquid crystal display panel, such panels already being customarily used in digital cameras as preview panels.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,894,326, issued to McIntyre et al. on Apr. 13, 1999, discloses an electronic camera having a printer wherein electronically stored images can be previewed before printing hard copies thereof through the utilization of a display that is selectively movable between an operator view position and an print position. U.S. Pat. No. 5,802,413, issued to S. W. Stephenson on Sep. 1, 1998, describes a system wherein an external electronic viewfinder of an electronic still camera is placed in a holder in relationship to a photographic printer that has a shutter mechanism. Other patents that suggest the use of transmission liquid crystal displays for area array printing include: U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,001, issued to Hatanaka et al. on Sep. 17, 1991; U.S. Pat. No. 5,822,637, issued to Stephenson et al. on Oct. 13, 1998; U.S. Pat. No. 5,894,326, issued to McIntyre et al. on Apr. 13, 1999; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,754,305, issued to DeClerck et al. on May 19, 1998.
Depending on one's particular application, the hard copy obtainable from transmission-type LCD print mechanisms may be suitable. However, due in part to the comparatively low “fill factor” (i.e., the ratio of image and non-image surface areas) of the typical transmission-type LCDs employed in digital camera displays, the resolution of such images is generally low and typically does not approach acceptable photographic quality. Further, in many such images, a noticeable “screen door” effect can be observed (i.e., a grid-like pattern of un-imaged areas). While the “screen door” effect can be mitigated, for example, by jostling either the photosensitive film or LCD during exposure, the resultant blurring reduces resolution and hence may still not produce a desirable image. In light of the above, there is need for a methodology of printing images instantly from a digital camera (or other imaging device) that is both comparatively fast and provides comparatively good image quality. And, in this regard, there is no known apparatus or system in which displayed images can be viewed in one mode by a first optical system and through a second optical system be printed in another mode through an optical system which can selectively redirect images, real or virtual, to at least either one or both of the optical systems.